Skinners’ Academies Trust
‘ofsted’
Problems with new Skills Funding Agency (SFA) software continue to trouble FE staff as they prepare to attempt submitting key recruitment information by 6pm tomorrow (Thursday, December 5). Known as the R04 submission, the data could be used by the Education and Funding Agency and SFA for both funding and performance management purposes. Ian Pryce […]
Opinion
After an exhausting few days, Association of Colleges chief executive Martin Doel shared his thoughts with FE Week editor Nick Linford. The pair talked all things conference in a 45-minute webinar, sponsored by Tribal. Here are some of the key moments. Nick Linford: So, we heard from the president of the Association of Colleges, Michele […]
News
Colleges run their own ‘business’ to allow learners to gain experience and 157 Group executive director Lynne Sedgemore said last week that such ventures could be seen as providing a realistic taste of the workplace. However, Iain Mackinnon says they are too few and far between to offer a viable alternative to experience of a […]
Former House of Commons Education Select Committee specialist Ben Nicholls is head of policy and communications at London’s Newham College. He writes exclusively for FE Week every month. A year ago, when I was appointed to Newham College, I didn’t know all that much about FE (it’s okay, I said so at my interview — […]
Despite passing the 11-plus, Mark Brickley says he wasn’t a particularly academic child. For reasons neither he nor his 81-year-old father, Derek, can recall, he chose not go to grammar school. So when he left school at 16, the year of the Falklands War “and when unemployment was through the roof,” he was keen to […]
Profiles
Uptake on the government’s flagship traineeship scheme is failing to reach expectations, according to senior FE figures. It is too soon for Ofsted to report on the quality of traineeships in any detail… Skills Funding Agency boss Keith Smith (pictured) said colleges would deliver 57 per cent of projected 19 to 23 traineeships, while Ofsted […]
Download your free copy of the FE Week 16-page highlights from the AoC conference 2013 supplement, sponsored by NOCN. Click here to download (16 mb) ——————————————————————————————– Introduction It had policy announcements aplenty and quite a few speeches, not to mention tears as some worthy students were praised at a glitzy gala dinner — but the […]
Supplements
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned that careers guidance is “heading towards a cliff edge”, joining sector-wide calls to ensure young people are aware of all their options. The comments, from CBI director for employment and skills policy Neil Carberry, come after a survey of 2000 14 to 25-year-olds showed that only 26 […]
Former Education Secretary Lord Baker has defended University Technical College (UTCs) after it was revealed that some were running at less than a third of capacity. He said figures showing the 150-pupil Central Bedfordshire UTC was just 30 per cent full for the last academic year, while the 480-pupil Black Country UTC, near Birmingham, was […]
